Component 1 section A Hollywood 1930-1990
New hollywood
Tabos - new outlooks
violence
Contexts:
Social - new generation rebelling against the old
Cultural - 1960s san franisco Vietnam war - pacifism - civil rights - liberal politics - youth culture
JFK
femenist movement
Racism:
1960s is a time of change juxtaposed to the 1930s when there was widely accepted racism - links to repossesed house scene when black man lets anger out at the system simbolic for social justice taking place in the 1960s.
Great depression - 1930s:
Of mice and men
it was very difficult to be a farmer
repossession of homes
Reprsentations:
Women
Race
men
gender issues
1960 juxtaposed to 1930s
1930s- wall street crash - depression -homlessness
1960s - Vietnam - civil rights - feminism
Key events
Key ideas and themes:
- Bonnies confidence and bravery
- she is different to blanch
- bonnie does not get on with blanch - different representation of women not seen as subserviant
- sexual tension between bonnie and clyde
13:15-16:53 they hide in repossessed house
editing
- slow paced editing
- shot reverse shot
Sound
- Sound of birds
- sounds of gun shots
Mise en scene
- The house is run down
- empty
- guns and holsters to show deviance
- Farmer wearing clothes typically of a farmer who had little to no money
- delapedated house
- reposessed by the bank
- The farmer is shown t be poor this is empahsised by all his belongings being attached to his car
- old bottles as targets - typical in westerns
- warn down setting
- land is bare and trees have no leaves
Cinematography
- tracking shot
- medium shots
- close up of clyde smiling to show how he is charming
- long shots
- close up of faces of farmers wife and child
We see some of the themes of society at the time reflected in the film’s attitudes towards the banks. Bonnie and Clyde takes place during the Great Depression of the 1930s, the backdrop an economically ravaged America where there is little respect for the rule of law, but certainly none for the banks. In an important early scene, Bonnie and Clyde bond with a man whose house has been repossessed. Bonnie describes this as “a pitiful shame”. This scene shows the variety of people who have been wronged by the banks which are targeted by bonnie and clyde presenting them as somewhat of anti-villians as they are not quite good but not quite bad. Clyde is presented as charming this is empahsised by the close up when he smiles showing him to be charming and a decent person. We sympathise with him when he allows the farmer to shoot at the reposessed house as he has the power and gives something back to the man whse house was taken. The slow paced editing allows us to analyse the scene and form opinions towards the characters present.
Reprisantation of women:
Blanche
- preahcers daughter
- Married
- respectable
-fearful
- demands money she hasent earned
- disloyal
Bonnie
- waitres
- Unmarried
- Sexually aware
- Dominant/ powerful
- Enjoys danger and excitement
- partakes in roberies
- Stands up against the police
Essay question: Analyse the representations of gender in Bonnie and Clyde how do key elements of film form enhance these representations
Key scenes and why-
Repossessed house scene - I chose this scene as I think that it accurately represents a lot of the ideas aurther penn was aiming to portray in this film such as the juxtaposition between America in the 1930s - 1960s and how he plays social and political themes into his film especially in this scene where it shows the economic state of America and the hardships faced by the working-class people such as the farmer. and how this is reflected by the characters of bonnie and clyde
Ending - I chose this scene as it shows the juxtaposition of femininity
First bank robbery together - I chose this scene as is shows the turn of bonnie from a stereotypical female to a new generation of empowerd female which is linked with the 1960s - uses blanche to juxtapose and show how different bonnie is. moss is now seen as the least powerful character and this gives bonnie a whole new look as she is no longer a lesser to clyde instead she is his partner in crime.
Brainstorm - compare our two penn films
Similarities -
- they both talk about society at the time
- focus on rebels and people who go against society norms
- gender in each film: alice and bonnie - confronts men: police and husband
- Representation of the two leading female characters: on the one hand both in the shadow of a man
- Bonnie more accertive later as in alice - in relation ray
- Both women ahead of their time: assertive, foward thinking, indipendant: bonnie makes choices
- Alice is the head or heart of the community and ahead of her time
- Hardworking - only one
- Both women rebel - bonnie nomadic; alice in a commune
- Factor in - wider context of the 1960s - counter- culture: civil rights, anti Vietnam, anti establishment, youthful rebellion
- Women and freedom/ boundaries by the end; progress of the 1960s
Differences -
- Bonnie on the wrong side of the law
- Alice trying to keep community on the right side
- Bonnie more aggresive
- Alice - 1960s and the peace movement
- Genre: Bonnie and clyde - crime drama; alice's restaurant/ black comedy
- Real individuals and real events - fact/fiction
Alice's restaurant
- Alice
- Boyfriend husband ray
- Shelly - young man with PTSD
- Arlo Guthrie - young friend father dying
- Roger Arlo's friend
- Hippie crowd
Old Vs new
- tension between older and younger values/ generation
- Represented through tradition
- Celebrate thanksgiving - founding fathers
- Heaven
- Rebellious theme - motorbike races
- Wedding - ceremony - dress code
Penn 1922-2010
- Law and order
- Lawfulness/lawless
- Boundaries of justice
- Outsiders - law breakers
- Outsiders - rebel to established rules and culture e.g. draft avoiders
Josh a good outline of some of the ideas which have emerged in our viewing. This is a sound start. Of course further class work will enhance the notes you have made so you can expand them. You make some excellent observations on context.
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